NewMarket Shares Dropped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of NewMarket (NYS: NEU) dropped 10% today after the company released disappointing earnings results.

So what: The company said that revenue increased in the fourth quarter to $505.6 million, from $460.6 million a year ago. But profitability suffered, falling to $2.51 in earnings per share from $3.47 a year ago. Analysts had expected earnings of $3.42 per share.

Now what: The move today isn't a big surprise considering the wide earnings miss. Operating costs rose significantly in the quarter, resulting in lower operating profit and the earnings miss. Still, for the full year, earnings per share rose to $14.13 from $12.52 a year ago, so the company had a down quarter compared to the rest of the year. Keep an eye on what happens in the first quarter of 2012 to see if this is an aberration or a trend in results.

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